May 2021: Comedic Actors' Dramatic Turns

In honor of Chris Rock in Spiral, here are Movie Club’s recommendations for comedic actors playing dramatic roles.

Chris’ Rec

Cloris Leachman

The Last Picture Show

I grew up watching Cloris in Mel Brooks films and Malcolm in the Middle, so in my mind she was always a weird, funny grandma. In The Last Picture Show, she burned on the screen with an internalized frustration rarely matched outside of a Tennessee Williams production. Cloris Leachman won Best Supporting Actress for this role. 36 years later, she would vigorously warm a summer sausage with her bare hands for the Broken Lizard boys in Beerfest. 

Stephanie’s Rec

Steve Carell

Foxcatcher

Steve Carell is most known for his lighthearted roles in The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Despicable Me, and the TV sitcom The Office; however, his most captivating role has to be John du Pont in Foxcatcher. Carell took his portrayal of du Pont into a darkness that made the character unrecognizable from the actor - and made for a super eerie viewing experience!

Dylan’s Rec

Kristen Wiig

mother!

mother! is the ultimate puzzle box of a movie. Not that it’s meant to be solved but rather you ask yourself “what the hell am I looking at?” the entire runtime of the film. Of all of the insane things about this movie, Kristen Wiig’s nightmare turn as God’s publicist/war crime committer is the most wtf? part of the movie. Who would have thought Target Lady would be able to convincingly execute hostages?

Kirk’s Rec

Molly Shannon

Other People

Molly Shannon is no stranger to playing eccentric women, but in SNL writer Chris Kelly’s autobiographical film, she imbues a larger-than-life mother with a striking fragility as she slowly succumbs to cancer. Shannon’s loud and vivacious personality whittles away but her fighting spirit always shines through. It’s a relatable and heartbreaking portrait of a kooky mom in a devastatingly common reality.

Jesse’s Rec

Peter Sellers

Being There

In a movie often pegged as an example of satire that’s lost its punch after the Trump presidency, Sellers delivers a captivating performance that gives Being There a cutting perspective on the hollowness of politics. While not an overly dark or emotional dramatic turn, the simple, understated character he creates delivers a wholesale shift from his more well known comedic turns in films such as Pink Panther and Dr. Strangelove, while still retaining Sellers’ trademark on-screen gravity.